They held a series of hearings after then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo found Spitzer had misused State Police to compile records on Bruno's use of state aircraft, a scandal known as Troopergate.

But with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office under criticism for allegedly using its influence to steer a corruption-busting panel, the response from the state Legislature has been muted.

Top state officials have been quiet – either in supporting Cuomo or raising concern about the disbandment of the Moreland Commission. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating the case.

"Certainly Cuomo is a much more significant, imposing figure than Spitzer was at the time," said former state Sen. George Winner, R-Elmira, who headed the Senate's probe of Spitzer. "He's much more of a formidable presence, and so therefore I think people have been more cautious about mixing it up with him."

But Winner and other officials said the cautious approach with Cuomo compared to Spitzer is also because the cases have major differences. Bharara is investigating for potential federal crimes – including lawmakers' use of campaign cash -- so legislators want to stay clear of his wrath.

Also, Spitzer picked a fight with Bruno, the then-powerful Senate leader and former boxer, who reveled in pushing back against the Democratic governor.

Spitzer battled with the Legislature, while Cuomo forged a bond with Senate Republicans. The relationship, though, was strained when Cuomo formed the Moreland Commission and more so in recent months when he vowed to oust them from power in the November elections.

But Albany politicians still want to avoid the Moreland mess, said Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor, R-Fishkill, Dutchess County. All 213 state legislative seats, as well as Cuomo and other statewide offices, will be on the November ballot.

"It's duck and cover," Lalor said. "It speaks to the extent of the scandal that nobody is really talking about it."

Sen. Carl Marcellino, who chairs the Senate Investigations Committee, told Gannett's Albany Bureau last week that the panel will likely examine the Moreland Commission's disbandment after Bharara's work is complete.

"We will then take a look at that and take a look at the Moreland Commission law to see if there's any need to perhaps revive that 107-year-old statute and bring it more clearly into modern times," Marcellino, R-Nassau County, said.

Cuomo formed the Moreland Commission in July 2013 to try to root out corruption at the Capitol and recommend reforms.

Its target was largely state lawmakers' misuse of campaign cash and their outside incomes. Cuomo's administration is being accused of guiding the 25-member panel, including 10 district attorneys, to stay clear of his allies.

Cuomo has countered that the panel was independent, though said his office gave advice. Cuomo abruptly disbanded the commission in March as it was looking into perhaps dozens of corruption cases -- which are now before Bharara.

Legislative leaders have not commented since a New York Times investigation last month detailed the involvement of the Cuomo administration. Cuomo on Thursday said he would no longer address the issue, pointing to Bharara's investigation.

Cuomo's office said the Democratic governor's $35 million campaign account will fund private attorneys to represent him and his staff, instead of using taxpayer money.

Sen. Ted O'Brien, D-Irondequoit, Monroe County, has pushed legislation that would ban use of campaign cash on attorneys if a lawmaker were charged with a crime. But in a statement Monday, he didn't say whether Cuomo's use of campaign cash was appropriate.

"While his bill would not apply in this specific case, Senator O'Brien will continue fighting to pass his legislation along with his colleagues' proposals so New Yorkers can have the government they deserve," his office said in a statement.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who deputized the lawyers on the panel to give them broad powers, on Friday said he too would not discuss his role in the case, citing the investigation.

In a letter last week to the commission's attorneys, Bharara's office warned Cuomo's office from pressuring Moreland members to speak in support of the panel's work, the Times reported. So Bharara's warning seemed to further shutter comments about the probe.

Cuomo's political opponents charged that the silence from legislative leaders over the scandal is another sign of Albany's dysfunction.

"Right now the biggest problem in New York is this old-boy, corrupt network where they circle the fences and protect their own, and this week is the best example of that," Zephyr Teachout, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Fordham University law professor, said last week on "New York Now," a public television show. "Because who has spoken up?"